TY - JOUR

T1 - A Gender Equalizing Regulatory Welfare State?

T2 - Enacting the EU’s Work-Life Balance Directive in Denmark and Poland

AU - de la Porte, Caroline

AU - Larsen, Trine Pernille

AU - Szelewa, Dorota

PY - 2020/12/1

Y1 - 2020/12/1

N2 - This article examines the implementation of the European Union’s (EU) work-life balance directive in Denmark and Poland through examining the earmarking of paid parental leave. This enables us to assess whether the EU could be emerging as a gender equalizing regulatory welfare state (RWS). Our analysis points to tensions arising when regulatory decisions are made at a higher level of governance but require implementation and funding at lower levels of governance. In both countries, there are similar parental leave schemes ex-ante, and major actors had similar initial stances on parental leave, favoring stagnation. Yet the plans to implement show how the actors’ positions changed, and the likely result is extended parental leave, with payment (known as double expansion) and more gender-equal participation (degenderization) in parental leave. Although in two different institutional settings, the similar outcome suggests that these changes are due to the European Union acting as an emerging RWS, which influences Member States’ regulatory instruments with fiscal elements.

AB - This article examines the implementation of the European Union’s (EU) work-life balance directive in Denmark and Poland through examining the earmarking of paid parental leave. This enables us to assess whether the EU could be emerging as a gender equalizing regulatory welfare state (RWS). Our analysis points to tensions arising when regulatory decisions are made at a higher level of governance but require implementation and funding at lower levels of governance. In both countries, there are similar parental leave schemes ex-ante, and major actors had similar initial stances on parental leave, favoring stagnation. Yet the plans to implement show how the actors’ positions changed, and the likely result is extended parental leave, with payment (known as double expansion) and more gender-equal participation (degenderization) in parental leave. Although in two different institutional settings, the similar outcome suggests that these changes are due to the European Union acting as an emerging RWS, which influences Member States’ regulatory instruments with fiscal elements.

KW - Det Samfundsvidenskabelige Fakultet

KW - work-life balance

KW - gender equality

KW - EU social policy

KW - parental leave

KW - Denmark

KW - Poland

KW - regulatory welfare state

U2 - 10.1177/0002716220956910

DO - 10.1177/0002716220956910

M3 - Tidsskriftartikel

VL - 691

SP - 84

EP - 103

JO - The Annals of American Academy of Political and Social Science

JF - The Annals of American Academy of Political and Social Science

SN - 0002-7162

IS - 1

ER -